


Good With Their Hands

by books4belle



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, First Kiss, Friends With Benefits, Making Out, Past Calypso/Leo, Technical virginity, don't have joke ships, they will become real ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 15:56:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3255737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/books4belle/pseuds/books4belle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo's friends think he needs a new girlfriend. Rachel has an alternative suggestion. Future-fic, set about 4 years or so after BoO.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good With Their Hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sionainne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sionainne/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Useful Crafts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2083458) by [Minutia_R](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minutia_R/pseuds/Minutia_R). 



> "Don't ever ship anything as a joke, it will become an OTP" ~ tumblr
> 
> Leave it to me to take two of the least appreciated characters in the fandom and make them my new favorite ship.
> 
> There are a few references to Minutia_R's amazing fic Useful Crafts. I love the way Leo and Rachel are written in that fic and I hope I did them justice here. 
> 
> Dedicated to Sionnaine, my headcanon partner in crime and the only other person who will probably read this.

Leo wasn’t at dinner. That wasn’t particularly unusual, Rachel supposed. When he got involved in a project, he could go hours or even days without eating. So, Rachel wondered, where was he?

She finished her food quickly, then left the meal early to look for him. She checked Bunker 9, but it was empty. The Hephaestus cabin was too. Neither Piper nor Jason had seen him all afternoon. The last time Rachel had seen him was at Arts and Crafts, but that was three hours ago. He couldn’t still be…

Rachel made her way through the open air pavilion, stepping over globs of hot glue and piles of glitter left by eager campers earlier in the day. Leo was sitting on a bench with his back to the empty table. He was hunched over, fussing with something in his lap. 

“Whatcha working on?” Rachel asked lightly, not wanting to startle him.

Leo didn’t speak. Didn’t turn around, only gestured to the object on the floor in front of him. He didn’t like to talk much while he was working. It’s like he forgot to be human for a while so he could immerse himself in his projects. Rachel had learned not to take it personally. 

As she moved up next to him, she saw that he was working on a little bronze bug. Sort of like a scarab. It moved robotically on six spindly legs. Leo held a remote control in his hands and was making the tiny automaton walk in a crooked circle. 

“You wanna try?” He offered the controls to Rachel. 

She sat on the table, her feet on the bench next to where he was sitting. Taking the controller, she used the joysticks to move the scarab forward and back. There were a couple of buttons on the side of the controls. She held her finger over one and looked expectantly at Leo.

He shrugged. “If you want. It hasn’t been working right.”

She pressed the larger button and a tiny pair of iridescent wings popped out of the creature’s back. The smaller button caused the insect to rise and hover a few inches off the ground. 

Rachel laughed, delighted at the simple elegance of the toy. She moved a joystick, guiding the scarab through lazy figure eights. She was about to see if she could make it fly higher, when the controller buzzed slightly, causing Rachel to jump and the automaton to fall back to the earth. 

“Shit! Did I break it?” Rachel clambered down off the table, nearly bumping heads with Leo in her attempt to recover the fallen object. 

Leo picked up the bug without really looking at it. “Nah. It’s fine. I told you. It keeps shorting out like that. Something’s wrong with the wiring.” Leo held his hand out for the controller. Rachel gave it to him, but took the bronze scarab from him in exchange. 

She turned it over in her hands, marveling at the exquisite detail. “Leo, this is beautiful. It’s like a little work of art.” 

Leo shrugged off the complement. “You’re the artist, Red.”

“I couldn’t make something like this. Something that moves, that functions.” 

“Well, it doesn’t feel like I can make anything that functions anymore.”

“Leo.” Rachel sighed, running her hand through his curls. 

He leaned into the touch almost like a cat. “I mean, I know I can still build things. But I just…” He reached for the scarab, his fingers gliding over Rachel’s as he gently took it from her hand. “I feel like I’m stuck. Like I used to have so many ideas and now…” He trailed off, looking down at the toy as he placed it into the pocket of his toolbelt. 

Rachel shifted over so she could sit behind Leo. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to work at the tension in his muscles. 

Leo dropped his head back and sighed in appreciation. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You seem like you need to release some stress.”

“I’m not going to stop you,” Leo quipped, then moaned appreciatively as Rachel pressed on a particularly tight knot. 

They didn’t talk for a bit. It was strangely peaceful, with all the campers still at the mess hall. Rachel concentrated on the feel of Leo’s skin beneath her fingers. On finding the tightness in his muscles and soothing it away. As she rubbed the base of his neck with her thumbs, she spoke up again. “Do you know what you need, Leo?”

Leo groaned. “Please don’t say a girlfriend.”

“What?” Rachel laughed, surprised. 

“Piper and Jason keep setting me up with girls, saying that it would be good for me to move on. That what I need is someone to distract me from missing Caly.” 

“And what do you think?” she asked, wrapping up the massage by smoothing her hands along his back. 

Leo turned towards her awkwardly, looking over his shoulder. “Honestly? In some ways it would be nice.”

Rachel shifted again, this time lounging across the tabletop on one elbow so she could see Leo more easily. “Like what?”

“I don’t know. It’d be nice not to feel so lonely, y’know. I miss the closeness.” He toyed absently with the tips of Rachel’s fingers where they dangled off the tabletop. 

“And the sex.” She supplied matter-of-factly.

Leo laughed. “Well, yeah. That too.” He ruffled his hair unconsciously. “Dating sucks. There’s all the weird, fake politeness. The getting to know you shit. And that’s before anything good happens. Then once you’re actually dating, things just get so complicated and confusing.” 

“Relationships can be like that, I hear.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think I’m very good at relationships.” Leo frowned, turning away. 

“Which is why,” Rachel brushed her hand through his hair, guiding him to look back at her, “I wasn’t going to say you needed a girlfriend.”

“No?” Leo’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he was clearly interested.

Rachel couldn’t keep a small smirk off her face. “No. I think you need a muse.”

“Um, like one of those ancient Greek ladies? Mnemosyne’s kids?” 

Rachel was only a little surprised that Leo remembered the guide from the Guggenheim. It had been a pretty memorable quest. “Well, they were the first, but no. I was actually thinking in a more colloquial sense of the word.”

“Try that again, Red.” He booped her nose playfully. “Not all of us have a fancy private school education.” 

Rachel stuck out her tongue at him, then continued. “What I mean is, you need someone to inspire you.” She ran a suggestive finger down his arm. “Someone to distract you from your troubles and remind you what a talented person you are.”

“Oh really?” Leo chuckled sarcastically. “And where exactly to I go to find a muse? Are there newspaper listings? Do I make an offering?”

“I’m pretty sure you could find someone at camp if you wanted,” she suggested, keeping her tone casual. 

Leo threw up his hands in a hopeless gesture. “Right! All the demigods are just lining up for a chance to be with ‘the boy on fire’.” 

“I didn’t say demigod.” 

Rachel let her statement hang in the air. 

“Wait. You mean…” Leo stammered, eyebrows shooting upwards. 

When he didn’t continue after a beat, Rachel sat up and started to climb down off the table. “Look, if you’re not interested…”

Leo grabbed her hand, stopping her. “I didn’t say not interested. Just... confused.”

Rachel sat back down on the table. “Okay?”

Leo climbed up beside her, their knees brushing against one another. “So, the last time we talked, you said no thanks. You said you served a jealous god or something like that.”

“Yeah, well, when I helped defeat the python and restore Apollo’s gift of prophecy, he and I had a little chat about the whole jealousy thing.” Rachel shrugged. “We have an understanding now.”

“Yeah?” Leo asked cautiously.

She nodded. “I can sleep with whoever I want as long as things stay casual.”

“But, um, doesn’t the oracle still have to, um,” he chewed his lip nervously, “be a virgin?”

Rachel leaned forward just enough to move into Leo’s personal space. “You’d be amazed how much sex you can have and still be a virgin.”

It looked for a moment like Leo was about to fall off the table. He mumbled something in spanish, eyes wide with surprise. But then he steadied himself. He covered Rachel’s hand with his and looked into her eyes. “Why me?”

“‘Cause I like you, Leo. You’re sexy. You make me laugh.” She slid her hand out from under his and trailed her fingers along his arm. “ And I’m curious what these talented hands could do given the right direction.” 

Leo sat up, slowly moving closer to her, encouraging her backwards with a cautious grin on his face. “So, just so we’re clear on this muse thing.”

Rachel couldn’t seem to stop giggling. “Okay?” 

“I talk to you about my crazy ideas.”

“Uh-huh.” She leaned back on her elbows as he loomed playfully over her. 

“We’re not dating.” 

“Nope.” It was harder to catch her breath as the anticipation built.

“We’re still friends.”

Rachel’s back pressed against the table, Leo’s weight pinning her down. “Yup.”

“But we have sex.”

“That pretty much covers it. You interested?”

“Oh, hell yes.” 

Rachel had only a moment to see the smile flash across Leo’s face as he bent his head towards hers. 

Their first kiss was sloppy, rushed, and absolutely amazing. Neither of them had time for things like finesse or skill at the moment. Teeth scraped, hands groped, fingers fumbled; it was exactly what they wanted. 

Only Rachel wanted more. She arched her back, pressing her hips up, grinding them against Leo and making him curse. “Oh, Fuuuck me! ” 

She nipped playfully at his earlobe and murmured, “That’s what I’m trying to do,” 

Leo moaned, but pushed back from her, bracing himself on his elbows. “Right there with you, Red, but give me a second to think.”

“Why?” Rachel panted. “Thoughts are so overrated.”

“Well it may not seem like it at the moment, but I was raised to be a gentleman, and I’m not about to just ravage you on a picnic table in the middle of camp.” He struggled to sit up, offering her a hand to pull her up next to him. 

Shit. He was right. “And I’m sure I will appreciate that at some moment when I’m not quite so worked up.” 

“But I’m guessing we can find someplace more private to continue this?” Leo dipped his head to place a kiss on her collarbone. His lips lingered there long enough to make Rachel sigh. “So your place or mine, Red?”

“Your place?” Rachel leaned back far enough so he could see her amused expression. “With all of cabin 9 looking on?”

“Excellent point. I’m not exactly thinking clearly at the moment.”

“That’s okay. Happens to the best of us. Especially when you skip dinner. You should go get something to eat.” Rachel leaned closer to nuzzle his neck. “You’re going to need it.” 

Leo make a small incoherent noise, that Rachel, feeling gracious, was kind enough to overlook. She continued, “Why don’t you meet me by the back porch of the big house after the bonfire.” 

He gave her a slightly pathetic look. “No cuddling and camp songs?”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Valdez.” Rachel snapped, maybe a bit too harshly. She relented, moving closer to him and draping a leg across his lap. “Maybe if you’re really, really good, we can cuddle for a bit afterwards.” 

“Fuck dinner. I’m not hungry.” He grasped her face in both hands and pulled her in for a bruising kiss. 

The distant sounds of campers milling about caused Rachel to pull away, reluctantly. “After the bonfire,” she repeated, hopping down off the picnic table with a breathless laugh. “I’ll see you at the back porch.” 

Rachel crossed the lawn towards the big house. She glanced back and saw Leo still sitting where she’d left him, looking slightly dazed. She couldn’t really blame him. Seducing Leo Valdez hadn’t really been part of her plans for the day. She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure how they gotten there. But she anticipated being pretty happy with the results.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me on [tumblr](http://goodforharpies.tumblr.com)


End file.
